Wind and heavy rains cause damage

ATLANTA, Ga. -- "The drought problems occur over a period of time, they don't go away," says Bob Delbridge, a certified arborist with 404-Cut-Tree.

"It takes years and years for those root hairs to come back, but the wet ground compounds the problem, and makes it worse. If you add water, it really makes the tree more likely to fail. Our company has taken out three storm damaged trees over the weekend, and two-thirds of those trees, accidents were preventable."

But he isn't the only one dealing with downed trees from bad weather. Battalion Chief Chris Wessels, of the Atlanta Fire Dept. says their station has had its fair share of tree calls as well, including one that caused two houses to catch fire.

"Of course earlier today we had the tree that fell on the house which caused a house fire, but we have trees that fall across power lines, roadways, and it's an important thing to remember......that any part of a tree that falls, if it came in contact with any part of a power line, or utility lines, they just need to treat it like it is a downed power line. With the ground conditions and any kind of wind whatsoever, if the root systems in these trees are compromised, they come over pretty easily."

"If you have a tree that can reach your house, have a certified arborist look at it, inspect it," Delbridge explains. For more information on how to treat and prevent this, head to this website for the full details.